Saturday Variety

Rails' Bargain Bus No 2

It was only after fbb uploaded this picture to the blog that he realised that the model was mucky! It came without box or packing of any kind, so came from Sheffield stored in one of fbb's spare pair of shoes. Presumably the shoes contained significant quantities of sock dust!

Anyway, it is a "C" registered AEC Reliance with the long-window body (Three big, one medium and one small.) The only picture of a similar bus that fbb can find is one in National Bus livery.

There are plenty in the Green Line (genuine) livery but although a later "K" reg, they have the shorter windows.

This is not the latest quality of model (it has intrusive body pillars and painted skylights) ...

... but, for its age, the detail is very good indeed.

The headlights are poor by modern standards. Here is the rear end ...

... and some detail of the lettering on the side.

Again, the ugly splodge of silver paint would not be tolerated for a model created today.

It is a sobering throught to look back at the equivalent Dinky coach from fbb's childhood.

fbb never had enough pocket money for such wonders.

Ot is even more sobering to look at the price being asked on eBay!

Yikes

The Reliance model sports a route 711 destination board ...

... less fuzzy at the second attempt!

fbb is, sadly, highly higgerant of his Green Line history but has recently gained the ability to look back to 1958 when he was a spotty 13. 

Presumably these so-called "C" plates varied along the length of the route with actual destinations from each stop?

Top class information, eh?

So here is the Mon to Sat version of the 711 timetable from way back then.

Note that there was no messing with the 24 hour clock in 1958. Note also that the running time as the same all day long! You don't get that today!

Ah, the joy of sitting on a Green Line Coach for three whole lovely hours is unimaginable! All the way from High Wycombe ...

... to Reigate.

Russian Roulette

It will ever catch on, you know - much like those weird oiler buses that some say will replace our trams!!

If the text is too small for your peepers (it is, as posted, for fbb's) the tram has already done 400kn without passengers and will start carrying real people from September.

Happy 70th Birthday

In 1954 a growing Triang company moved its model railway production to a brand new site at Westwood, Margate,  Kent.

Six years later a delightful little tank engine appeared in the catalogue. It was not of any particular real locomotive but it had a character of its own. It (she, of course) was called Nellie!

The body was moulded in a rather strange blue plastic and it was powered by the iconic Triang X04 motor. It went very fast, very fast indeed, due to ludicrous gearing. Some clever people calculated that at full tilt it was doing a scale speed of over 200 mph!

fbb coveted one, having yet to learn, as a new Christian, the dangers of breaking the 10th commandment.

Clearly sales of the scandalously cheap tank engine were good, so a second blue loco appeared named Connie.

As the years passed things changed somewhat. Connie became yellow ...

... and was joined by Polly ...

Other versions of these locos arrived in the catalogue, this time with numbers, not names.

... but essentially this little shunter remained physicall the same.

As fbb became more able to spend larger sums, his interest in model railways faded somewhat. A teaching career was challenging and jolly hard work and along came Mrs fbb and, in due course, three children.

But the old man still kept an eye on the model world, watching Hornby go bust, the take over of Hornby (in name only) and the subsequent insolvency and later rescue of Triang, now called Hornby!

At some stage in this process Nellie, Connie and Polly disappeared from the product list and the toolling was confined to a Margate Skip.

But the memory was kept alive by a little known version of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Called "The Margato". It was set in China amenhotep amongst the growing overseas production of Hornby model trains there.

This song from the operetta may ring a few bells.

Three little trains from Kent are we

Pert as a loco well can be

Filled to the brim with railway glee

Three little trains from Kent!

Everything is a source of fun.

Nobody's sad wit0h what we've done!

Ours is a joke that's just begun!

Three little trains from Kent!

Three little trains who, very wary

Come from a fact'ry, Chinese, scary

Free lance, not for a detail "hairy" 

Three little trains from Kent!

Three little trains from Kent!

Three little trains to celebrate come —

Three little trains for a low price sum

Nostalgic joy, they beat the drum

Three little trains from Kent!

There is a bit of a clue in the song as to what Hornby (i.e. Triang!) might do to celebrate their 70th Margate birthday.

More tomorrow!

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 21st July 

Saturday Variety

Breaking News

Bus watchers are in continuous amazement at the weird antics of First Bus. There was the surprise purchase of Ensign, reputedly to get its hands on the engineering business and extensive facilities at Ensign's depot. The bus operation came as a bonus?

Meanwhile GoAhead buys Dartline and Stagecoach buys Pullhams! Why, we wonder when these big groups are tearing off great strips of their network because they are unprofitable? 

Who knows?

And we cannot forget First's crackpot and ludicrously expensive use of AI (Artificial Insanity) software to turn sensible timetables into utter nonsense!

Now comes the announcement that First has bought York Pullman "for an undisclosed sum". 

Do remember that this was not the old, traditional York Pullman ...

... which was sold to Hull City bus soon after privatisation and then sold on to Durham Travel Services and then, in year 2000, fizzled completely.

This is the new York Pullman which appeared in 2007. The company developed a variety of business projects, but mainly private hire and school contracts. Briefly there was an open top bus operating in York,

There were a few "proper" bus services, but these were soon dropped. But, as it the way with the bus business, tendered services came back again. Here are the current routes:-

!0 York to Skelton

This is, effectively, a York city local route. Was it not once operated by First York or its immediate predecessor? The route was certainly with Reliance a while ago.

Three more routes are operated from slightly further out from the city centre ...

21 Colton to York

36 Sutton upon Derwent to York

37 Tadcaster to York (the back way)

Even if we add in the school contracts and some Summer Dalesbus and Moorsbus services ...

... it is hard to see what's in it for First Bus. Seems an odd way to extend a business when all over the country First is cutting back.

For the record, here is the full list ...

Have fun with your bottom line, First!

Merseyside Leaflets

And you used to be able to get network maps as well.

There is no evidence that the current multicoloured maps, as here for Southport ...

... are available in printed form; or are easily downloadable and printable.

Search for timetable leaflets and you will be heartily disappointed. But they are there - or something very similar is there.

If searching for a timetable, they appear like this for route 411 ..

... and the route map looks like this.

Neither is easily downloadable.

But scroll down the the bottom of the timetable and you are invited to download a PDF.

But you don't get just a timetable - you get the full leaflet. There is the "traditional" cover with very simplified straight line diagram ...

... a page of guff ...

... followed by the timetable (extract only shown).

The back page is a line of route map, packed with useful information and relevant detail.

The only thing missing is the location and names of every bus stop. But hey, you can't have everything.

So a question that fbb cannot answer - are these available in printed form? There is no indication as to where such useful bits of paper might be er picked up, so fbb presumes not.

But this is potty.

Someone has had to create these PDFs, needing quite a splodge of skill. The cost of printing them is negligible - so why not print them?

Modeller's Anguish

fbb wrote blog-wise that now he had added the canopy/verandah to his camping bus, there would be no need to model the lower deck interior as you couldn't see it!

Jacke, wife of our senior IoW correspondent, was appalled. She is a dolls house enthusiast and it is all about accurate interiors ...

... and captivating they be!

Jackie felt that the lower deck should be modelled even if glimpses were all that was available. After all, she thought, fbb would know it wasn't there and be very dissatisfied. Her strictures were, perhaps, not too serious; but fbb accepted the challenge.

There is the proto- kitchen sink and calor gas hob over the rear wheel arches of the routemaster (use your imagination - fbb will try a bit harder) and, towards the front ...

... a well-appointed dining area. fbb has repurposed some of the bus seats to maintain the character of the holiday let.

Painting was a challenge, but it is not too bad considering the old man's wobbly hand and ARMD, which seems to have stabilised a little.

Here is the result.

Note the London Transport Routemaster moquette on the seats. OK, not quite, but it is all rather tiny. fbb quite likes the fake wood table top! And generally it is smaller than a dolls' house.

Can you see anything from outside?

Barely! fbb will have to add internal lighting.

Aaaargh!

But the overall impression is what fbb was looking for and, to repeat an oft uttered mantra, it is at the back of the layout and will look great from a normal viewing distance.

Look! More bus seats under the awning! The porch door will not remain grey - it was fbb's first idea - and a bad one! And there are no doors yet from corridor (offside) into the bedrooms.

There's no furniture in the bedrooms - also yet!

Puzzle Picture

What and where is this?

Answer tomorrow!

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 28th January